Preparation and properties of polyacrylonitrile-based activated hollow carbon nanofibers

In order to prepare polyacrylonitrile (PAN) activated hollow carbon nanofibers (AHCNF) with higher porosity, the self-prepared PAN copolymers were coaxially electrospun, pre-oxidized, carbonized and activated to prepare AHCNF. The influences of the pore-forming agents on the morphology and porosity were further investigated. The results show that the prepared PAN copolymers has a lower cyclization temperature and less heat release during cyclization, facilitating the pre-oxidation. The carbonization process converses the C-O bond on the PAN surface into the C=O double band, and the activation process converts the C=O double bond into an ester group. The activated hollow carbon nanofibers prepared by adding the pore-forming agent and by adding no pore-forming agent have cross sections with an obvious hollow structure and compact fiber walls. For the activated porous hollow carbon nanofibers (p-AHCNF) prepared by adding the pore-forming agents, the BET total specific surface area increases from 55.719 m2/g to 532.639 m2/g, the pore volume increases from 0.070 cm3/g to 0.312 cm3/g, the average mesopore diameter increases from 3.408 nm to 4.309 nm, and the yields decreases from 27.14% to 9.44%. Copyright No content may be reproduced or abridged without authorization.